What I liked about PB’s Club: the nod to classic 80s rock and Interview with the Vampire. The idea of a PB Club at all is pure genius (high school students-seriously do this!). The time jump through Art’s life as he encounters Mercy was cool. What I did not like: the climax kept approaching a peak and felt like it petered out in the last second. This won’t deter me from future Tremblay, and I could even see a screen adaptation running with this one and turning it into something more.

Thanks to NetGalley, BookClubGirl, and William Morrow for this copy of "The Pallbearers Club."

I'm a big Paul Tremblay fan and am always excited to read his books. This one was creepy, haunting, and memorable for me.

I appreciated the historic aspects and the story of Mercy Brown which I had to go explore.

The red ink was a cool idea but was hard to read in an e-book version. It looks and is much easier to read in the physical copy.

(3.5 stars, rounded up to 4)

In "The Pallbearer's Club," Paul Tremblay showcases his trademark creativity, offering a narrative that blurs the lines between trope and introspection. The story delves into the complexities of identity, particularly during the transition from adolescence to adulthood, where characters grapple with change and self-discovery. Tremblay's exploration of friendship and deception adds depth to the narrative, challenging readers to question the authenticity of the protagonist's memoir-like account. While the plot is innovative and the ending impactful, occasional wordiness and less engaging middle sections detract from the overall experience, resulting in a 3.5-star rating.

This was a strange story about a young man named Art Barbara (pseudonym) who creates a club during his senior year of high school to bolster his resume for college. The Pallbearers Club would attend funerals for people with little or no family. They would be the ones to say good-bye to the deceased. Initially the club had two members other than Art. Then Mercy showed up and the other students quit when she started taking polaroid pictures of the deceased they were pallbearers for.

Mercy helps Art to research a woman that was thought to have been a vampire. After this incident strange things happen and there is always an undertone that Mercy is the cause of the bad things in Art's life even though she seems to care for him and offers him solid advice.

The book is told from two perspectives. First we read Art's memoir which details all the events of his life and his exchanges with Mercy over the years. The second is Mercy's commentary to each chapter of the book as she reads the only copy of the book.

This was an odd story but I wanted to keep reading because I wanted to find out how this friendship developed over time. Also, this is my first Paul Tremblay novel and I thought that it would have more horror, but it really was more psychological thriller.

The Pallbearers Club was a read I went into without reading much beyond a description that called it “a psychological thriller about an unforgettable and unsettling friendship with blood chilling twists”. While this did not live up to how I pictured it from this description, I was mildly entertained by the story. Art Barbara is writing his memoir and his friend Mercy Brown finds the transcript of the story and is editing and giving feedback along the way.
I was intrigued enough by the story to finish it, though I will say I am glad I listened on audio as I do not know that I would have given the story a chance if I was reading a physical copy. The audio narrators were great for both characters, and I loved the duet narration throughout each chapter.
Thank you to Netgalley, William Morrow and Scene of the Crime for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

I adore Paul Tremblay’s work and the Pallbearers Club was no exception. I love the campy cult classic horror movie vibes this story has. A true must read for anyone that enjoys the horror genre!

The Pallbearers Club was a fantastic romp into the dark and twisted mind of Paul Tremblay. This was a fantastic coming of age tale that really hits home and will appeal to readers of Stephen King.

Art Barbara was a 17 year old loner who started the Extra-curricular Pallbearers Club to assist at poorly attended funerals. Mercy Brown, a few years older joined the club and brought her Polaroid camera to take photos of the deceased. The novel unfolds as a manuscript of Barbra’s life from 17 to 50, interspersed with edits and comments from Mercy. The love/hate relationship of theses weird friends has twists and turns through the years an touches on folklore related to vampires. The book is too long and repetitive in recounting Art’s life with and without Mercy. There is some suspense in how it will end, but I didn’t find the plot or characters compelling.

Very slow... unfortunately I DNFed because it just wasn't doing anything for me. I got about halfway and still felt like nothing was happening. Just not for me.

*Thank you @williammorrowbooks for the copy in exchange for an honest review. Review not posted to Amazon/Goodreads because less than 4 stars or DNF.*

It is quirky, it is kinda weird, it is kinda fun. A very different perspective with different POVs. I wanted to not like it but couldn't stop reading.

I enjoyed this book. Another interesting read from Paul Tremblay. The two main characters were well developed, and the plot/pacing was enjoyable. Can't wait to read more from Paul Tremblay. #ThePallbearersClub #NetGalley

More coming-of-age than horror, The Pallbearers Club is told through the voice of a middle-aged man reflecting in his memoir about his high school experience--specifically, his time as a member of the Pallbearer's Club. The book is heavily edited by a friend he made while they were attending funerals for people with no family or friends of their own. The voices are witty and bright, but the story itself really dragged. The horror aspect--a witch or vampire in the family history of this friend--is awkwardly introduced (for a reason, but it still didn't sit well) and honestly didn't add much. Though I am generally a fan of Tremblay, this one just didn't do it for me. Perhaps I am a bad audience, never having been an unhealthy teenage boy.

What: a student needing extracurricular activities starts a very unique service-oriented club
About: dueling narratives between the autobiographer and main female character making notes in the margins “correcting” events
Features: unreliable narrators
Assets: cool idea for formatting a novel
Obstacles: format will definitely turn some off. It's ambiguous even for a Paul Tremblay book!
Who it’s for: The kind of person who would totally start a Pallbearer's Club and hope like hell that dangerous, crush-worthy person would join.

The Pallbearers Club was a different reading experience for me compared to some of Tremblay's other books. While it was definitely not what I was expecting, I still enjoyed my experience reading this book. The characters were intriguing and the ending still sits with me to this day. I will pick up more of Tremblay's work in the future.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. The Pallbearer's Club is one of the most interesting takes on vampire lore I have read in a long time. The two voices blend so well together. Updating the wasting disease was also very interesting. Very compelling read

If your looking for a spine tingling thriller this is definitely not it. If you are looking for a boring, long drawn out, confusing look into a love hate relationship between two “friends” with a weird paranormal twist this might be the book for you.

This book had a really unique narrative format, which a lot of people will absolutely love… but I did not. I found it very distracting and ended up bouncing back and forth between my other books. I just found the story to be a bit dry and forgettable. There were lots of nostalgic references which were pretty fun. As for the characters, they reminded me a lot of the pretentious young adults that John Green likes to write.

Trembla's books are usually a hit or miss for me. This one is a Miss !

It hurts my heart to say it, but this was not one of Paul Tremblay's best books. The red editing text made my eyes ache, and just seemed cumbersome. The premise was good, but it just meandered and meandered on and on.
I just didn't get it.

I like the format of the book with the annotations and comments included. However it felt more like a gimmick and couldn't really do more for a flat plot.

A little hard to follow with the narrative. I sometimes had a hard time deciding who was telling the story, if it was part of the memoir or if it was part of the story. In all fairness, I did listen to this on audio so the print version may be a better option for keeping the story lines straight.

A good vampire story with the addition of lots of teenage angst. I enjoyed the story and had a few moments that I looked over my shoulder to see if there was anyone behind me. Creepy and good.